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Saudi Arabia

September 6, 2026

Riyadh 11:49 am

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The entrance to the city of Qiddiya, south of the capital Riyadh, April 25, 2019.

Analysis

Iran war tests Gulf's theme park ambitions

Saudi Arabia is pressing ahead with multibillion-dollar projects as the conflict disrupts regional tourism and exposes weaknesses in the Gulf states' entertainment strategies.

In Bristol, reporting on regional business, climate change, AI, tech

A man walks past a mural depicting oil pumps and the Venezuelan flag, with portraits of Venezuelan independence leader Simon Bolivar (L) and former late President Hugo Chavez (R), in Caracas, Venezuela, on Sept. 3, 2026.

Analysis

Could Trump’s oil push in Venezuela upend OPEC’s energy order?

Washington’s growing role in controlling the Latin American country's crude riches could help reshape an energy order centered on OPEC as the Hormuz crisis pressures Gulf exports.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Guests stand at the booth of Saudi artificial intelligence company Humain during the Future Investment Initiative (FII) conference in Riyadh, on Oct. 29, 2025.

Saudi Arabia taps China’s MiniMax for Arabic AI model

The development signals that the kingdom continues deepening AI ties with China while simultaneously pursuing major US technology partnerships, keeping the Gulf state at the center of an intensifying technology race between the superpowers.

Latest News

Saudi oil exports hit nine-year low as tanker attacks threaten recovery

A commercial vessel passes through an international shipping lane off Yemen's Hanish Island in the Red Sea on July 27, 2026.

Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Pakistan set Mecca Alliance into motion

Mecca Alliance

Iraq reinforces Saudi border security amid militia tensions: What to know

Iraqi army troops patrol the Iraq-Saudi Arabia border

Samuel Wendel

Senior Analyst, Middle East Business & Tech

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Adam Lucente

News and Business Correspondent

In New York City, reporting on regional news, militancy, climate change

Jack Dutton

Chief Business Correspondent

In Bristol, reporting on regional business, climate change, AI, tech

Francesco Schiavi

In Bologna, reporting on security, defense, economy, governance

Sabena Siddiqui

In Karachi, reporting on South Asia, Middle East, Iran

Vanessa Ghanem

In Dubai, reporting on business, energy and politics

ANTALYA, TURKEY - NOVEMBER 15: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (L) greets Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz during the official welcome ceremony on day one of the G20 Turkey Leaders Summit on November 15, 2015 in Antalya, Turkey. World leaders will use the summit to discuss issues including, climate change, the global economy, the refugee crisis and terrorism. The two day summit takes place in the wake of the massive terrorist attack in Paris which killed more than 120 people. (Photo by Chri

Are there signs of thaw in Turkish-Saudi relations?

A phone call between the Turkish and Saudi leaders generated hopes for thawing of relations between Ankara and Riyadh, but significant roadblocks must be removed to end bellicose affairs.

Exhibitors and visitors attend the Saudi Arabia Renewable Energy Investment Forum (SAREIF) on April 17, 2017, in Riyadh. / AFP PHOTO / FAYEZ NURELDINE (Photo credit should read FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP via Getty Images)

Gulf oil producers scramble to catch up on renewables

The coronavirus pandemic has pushed Gulf leaders to realize the region needs to accelerate its shift toward renewables; environmental activists accuse the Gulf states of double-talk.

Will reopening of border crossing drive Saudi investment in Iraq?

Iraq and Saudi Arabia are opening the Arar border crossing, a move that should boost Saudi investment in Iraq.

WILMINGTON, DE - NOVEMBER 24: President-elect Joe Biden (C) introduces key foreign policy and national security nominees and appointments at the Queen Theatre on November 24, 2020 in Wilmington, Delaware. As President-elect Biden waits to be approved for official national security briefings, the names of top members of his national security team are being announced to the public. Calls continue for President Trump to concede the election and let the transition proceed without further delay. (Photo by Mark

Progressives divided over Biden’s expected pick for Pentagon chief

Michele Flournoy's stated openness to curtailing offensive weapons sales to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates may have reduced opposition from progressive Democrats

Women’s rights activist Loujain al-Hathloul to stand trial in Saudi Arabia

Loujain al-Hathloul will appear in a Saudi court Wednesday more than two years after she was first detained in a crackdown on human rights defenders.

Saudi Arabia will make coronavirus vaccines free to residents

The kingdom hopes to vaccinate up to 70% of its population by the end of 2021.

WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 28: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu listens as U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a joint statement in the East Room of the White House on January 28, 2020 in Washington, DC. The news conference was held to announce the Trump administration's plan to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. (Photo by Sarah Silbiger/Getty Images)

Netanyahu, MBS concur on Iran, but normalization no closer

In their briefly secret meeting in Neom, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman agreed on the common threat from Iran, but did not make progress toward normalization.

TEL AVIV, ISRAEL - APRIL 29: (ISRAEL OUT) In this GPO handout, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (L) meets Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu April 29, 2018 in Tel Aviv, Israel. (Photo by Haim Zach / GPO via Getty Images)

Gantz slams Netanyahu over leak of alleged secret meeting with Saudi crown prince

Saudi and Israeli sources have confirmed that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu flew yesterday to Saudi Arabia and met with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, leaked news that Defense Minister Benny Gantz called irresponsible.

Saudi Arabia’s dire rights record looms over G-20 summit

Riyadh’s hosting of the annual summit has drawn criticism from a broad coalition of human rights groups.

An Iraqi woman stands at passport control as she waits to have her passport stamped at the Arar southern Iraqi border crossing with Saudi Arabia on November 11, 2009. A group of Iraqi Shiite Muslim pilgrims left their homes in the city of Karbala to join an overland tour that will taken them to the Saudi holy city of Mecca where they will take part in the annual Hajj or pilgrimages. AFP PHOTO / MOHAMMED SAWAF (Photo credit should read MOHAMMED SAWAF/AFP via Getty Images)

Iraq-Saudi border crossing reopens after 30 years

The Arar crossing has remained closed since Iraq's invasion of Kuwait.

This picture taken December 12, 2019 shows (L) a view of the exchange board at the Stock Exchange Market (Tadawul) bourse in Riyadh displaying Aramco shares on the second day of their trading, along with a poster depicting Saudi Arabia's founder King Abdulaziz ibn Saud (C), his son and current King Salman bin Abdulaziz (R), and the latter's son Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (L) on display. - Energy giant Saudi Aramco's market value soared above $2 trillion as its share price surged again on its second da

Gulf oil exporters look past Biden’s green energy platform

The possible return of Iranian crude to global markets is a short-term concern for Gulf oil producers, which expect to be the last man standing in a decarbonizing world.

Saudi police close a street leading to a non-Muslim cemetery in the Saudi city of Jeddah where a bomb struck a World War I commemoration attended by European diplomats on November 11, 2020 leaving several people wounded amid Muslim anger over French cartoons. - The attack is the second assault in the kingdom in less than a month, as French President Emmanuel Macron has sought to assuage anger across Muslim nations over satirical cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed. (Photo by - / AFP) (Photo by -/AFP via Getty

Islamic State claims responsibility for Jeddah attack

The explosion at the World War II commemoration follows a stabbing at the French Consulate in Jeddah last month.